Jodi Isenor – sharing the love of trail running
Meet a trail runner, race organizer, blogger, inspiration and catalyst for the sport of Trail Running in Nova Scotia and the Maritimes.
There are those who love trail running and then there are those who run, promote, blog about, organize trails races and inspire others. It is the rare person that does more than one of these things. Jodi Isenor does all of this for the trail running community in Nova Scotia and the Maritimes.
JODI ISENOR
I have known Jodi for a long time since the day we bumped into each other at a cinder track in Nova Scotia running high school track and field. Both of us had a real love for the sport for we both kept running and bumping into each other over the years. Jodi is an accomplished trail runner, organizes trail races throughout Nova Scotia, blogs about trail running and still goes out and runs trail races in Canada and wherever he can find them. Jodi’s selflessness really comes out when one sees other things he has done -like running as a two-man team to run the 300km route of the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia to raise money for a kids camp. At the time of writing this blog, Jodi was organizing a trail race where funds raised go towards helping a local woman who is battling her second bout of cancer and had just appeared on local television after running on behalf of Terry Fox on the anniversary of the famous runner’s journey across Canada.
In Jodi’s words
Jodi says he has been trail running since he was a kid, and that’s he I loves it. “It makes me feel like a kid again, running through the woods and rivers, getting muddy, but not getting yelled at by my mother.”
“Trail running is very easy for me to talk about and to ‘talk up’. It’s easy to fall in love with the trails, to forget about your average pace, splits, and time, and just run like an animal through the woods. No traffic. No stop lights. No pavement. Just nature. It gives me great satisfaction seeing people’s faces at the end of a trail race that my girlfriend and I organize. It shocks people when they realize what they’ve just done, no matter what the distance is. People just have fun when they trail run and I’m glad that we’re playing a big part getting people out on the trails of Nova Scotia. Sharing the trails with new people equals happiness for me.”
What others say about Jodi
“Not only does Jodi organize more races than anyone else in Atlantic Canada but his races always have great course layouts with challenging terrain. He even very generously invites many racers, myself included, to stay at his house the night before races, but never shares any of the course secrets! As long as I’ve been a part of the “adventure racing/trail running” community Jodi Isenor’s name always had a lore associated with it. He regularly sets off on big adventures, some of which would even be repeated by others seeking to compare themselves to the one and only Jodi Isenor. I think it’s clear that when it comes to setting an example and inspiring us all to push ourselves and seek out adventure, few do as much as Jodi.” .” – Nathaniel Couture, New Brunswick trail runner
“Jodi is very helpful with every runner that joins us on our trail runs. He is forever giving out tips and he’s quick to offer his personal gear (shoes, packs etc) for others to try out. He is super keen on introducing trail running to road runners and will stick with them (giving up his own training run/faster pace) to help them out. Trail running is Jodi’s passion.” – Karine Comeau, Nova Scotia trail runner.
Jodi is keeping busy this year and organizing more races and continuing to blog while preparing for the Transalpine trail race in Europe and a 50-mile race to end of his season in October.
Trail Runners
There is something special about trail runners and ultra marathoners. This something I at first chalked up to pure craziness for either loving the sport of running helter-skelter through brush, mud and rocks or just blindly pounding one’s body relentlessly into the ground for hour after hour. But after spending more and more time on the trails and venturing on longer and longer runs, I think I understand, or I have caught the bug!
I am using my Canadian Running magazine blog to really highlight someone who has done a huge amount for the trail running community and someone I think would be a great candidate for the Canadian Running magazine Trail Running contest. If the judging criterion is based on heart, selflessness, degree of trail-running craziness and impact on the community – Jodi is your man. If you do not win Jodi, you have my respect and I am now ready to finally team up for some trail adventure anytime!
Run on Jodi!
Tell me about your running story!
legsnlungs@hotmail.com
See you on the roads or in the blogosphere.
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